Fly Fishing on the River Kennet

Rising from Swallowhead Springs near Silbury Hill in Wiltshire, the River Kennet is a chalk stream of 45 miles, flowing east through Marlborough and into Berkshire at Hungerford, where the Kennet and Avon Canal joins its course, then on through Newbury, where the River Lambourn enters, and east to Reading, where it meets the Thames. In summer it contributes up to half the Thames's flow at that point. Though it is only 22 miles from source to Newbury, 18th-century water engineers created more than 80 miles of fishable water through a maze of carriers. The upper reaches have classic chalk stream characteristics and the river has been famous for trout fishing since the late nineteenth century.

The River Kennet holds and fishes primarily on upstream dry fly, with nymph permitted on some beats. Olive hatches in spring combine with grannom and hawthorn before the mayfly arrives, which is followed by excellent evening fishing through summer as caddis flies gather. The mayfly arrives comparatively late relative to other southern chalk streams, with the best sport often found in the first weeks of June. In winter the river runs exceptionally clear, offering some of the finest sight-fishing for grayling available on any English chalk stream. The river carries notable angling history: Halford held a lease on a considerable length of water in the late 1800s, and John Waller Hills wrote regularly about the native Kennet brown trout, known as the "greenback", now a much sought-after rarity. The Eastridge Estate's stretch on the Berkshire and Wiltshire border won the Wild Trout Trust's 2014 Conservation Award for its habitat improvement work. Anglers should be aware that the Angling Trust and Action for the River Kennet (ARK) have raised significant concerns regarding ongoing sewage pollution in the Kennet catchment, overseen by Thames Water.

FishingBeats lists 13 beats across the River Kennet, spread across 1 fisheries. Notable stretches include Barton Court near Kintbury, which offers over three miles of main river, carriers, and side streams across classic Berkshire water meadows, and the Benham Estate on the lower river. Day tickets start from £665 for the trout season.